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Conflicts between humans and grizzly bears in the region around Yellowstone National Park eased up slightly last year, yet the long-term trend still points to more potentially dangerous interactions as populations of both bruins and people increase.

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team documented 252 grizzly run-ins with people in 2013. That’s down from recent years but roughly twice as many conflicts as a decade ago.

They ranged from bears attacking livestock and damaging property in search of food to surprising back-country encounters. Six people were injured by grizzlies — the same as in 2012.

There are an estimated 740 bears in the region that includes Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and adjacent portions of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

With more bears meeting more people in more places, the high level of conflict isn’t going away soon, said grizzly bear researchers.

DNA analysis may

help cottontails

DNA analysis of the endangered New England cottontail shows that power line rights of way, railroad beds and roadsides may help support their diminishing habitat.

The small, brown rabbit has been declining in the region for decades. It depends on tangled, low-growing shrubs in younger forests to survive. Once large trees take their place, the rabbit’s habitat is destroyed. Habitats also have been lost to land development.

Scientists are trying to come up with ways to restore habitat and create new areas for the rabbits. Research indicates that landscapes with such features as power lines and underpasses and culverts that have scrub habitat may attract the animals and help their movement.

— ASSOCIATED PRESS

Study: Statin drugs

may aid esophagus

Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are associated with a lower risk of Barrett’s esophagus, a precancerous condition that can sometimes lead to esophageal cancer, a new study has found. Barrett’s esophagus is common in people who have long-term gastroesophageal reflux, or GERD.

Researchers, writing in the August issue of Gastroenterology, found statin use was associated with a 43 percent lower risk of Barrett’s esophagus compared with controls. In obese patients, the risk was 74 percent lower.

Simvastatin was the most commonly used statin, and the population was mostly older men — two factors the authors acknowledge may limit the generalizability of their findings. The reasons for the results are unclear.

Probiotics trim

blood pressure

Consuming probiotics has a small but significant effect in lowering blood pressure, a large review of studies has found.

Researchers reviewed nine randomized trials with a total of 543 participants. All included adults older than 18 who used probiotic products with live bacteria. The studies tested various probiotics in varying amounts, mostly strains of Lactobacillus consumed in dairy products.

Eight of the nine studies found reductions in blood pressure. Overall, compared with control groups, those who used probiotics reduced systolic blood pressure (the top number) by an average of 3.56 millimeters of mercury and diastolic pressure by 2.38.

These are modest reductions, but the scientists suggest there is a potential for greater effect when blood pressure is elevated to begin with, when multiple species or large quantities of bacteria are consumed or when probiotics are used for longer than two months. The analysis was published in the journal Hypertension.

— THE NEW YORK TIMES

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